Dhawan hangs up his boots after stellar ODI career
One of India’s greatest openers in the limited overs format, Shikhar Dhawan recently announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, bringing the curtains down on a memorable international career spanning nearly two decades. With 6,792 runs in 164 ODIs, Dhawan forged a robust pairing at the top with compatriot Rohit Sharma, helping India dominate the one-day format in recent times.
Dhawan was a run machine at ICC events, often coming up with match-winning contributions. He topped the scoring charts for India at the 2015 ODI World Cup and was the player of the tournament in the 2013 Champions Trophy triumph, accumulating over 350 runs on both occasions. Remarkably, the southpaw also finished as the highest run getter in the 2017 Champions Trophy, remaining the only batter to surpass 300 runs more than once in the event.
The numbers behind Dhawan’s success are staggering. Alongside Kohli and Rohit, he contributed over 40% of India’s runs since 2013. With a prolific record in England and ability to perform away from home conditions, Dhawan established himself as a vital cog in India’s ODI lineup. His numbers against top teams were equally impressive. The dynamic duo of Dhawan and Rohit went on to add the fourth highest partnership runs in ODIs.
Dhawan continued piling on runs in the twilight of his career but the emergence of talented youngsters on the circuit saw his place come under scrutiny. Although a slump in 2022 impacted his selection, he can look back at a glorious ODI career where he flew India’s flag high in global tournaments and built a great legacy as one of the country’s finest openers.
